In a new development in the Kano Emirate leadership dispute, the Court of Appeal in Abuja has restrained the enforcement of its January 10 judgment, which upheld the Kano State Government’s repeal of the 2019 Emirate Council Law, pending the determination of an appeal at the Supreme Court.
The Court of Appeal in Kano had earlier set aside the June 20 order by Justice Abubakar Liman of the Federal High Court, Kano, which nullified the steps taken by the Kano State Government under the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024, including the appointment of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano.
The appellate court, which sat in Abuja, ruled that Justice Liman issued the order without jurisdiction.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, the Kano State Government appealed to the Supreme Court and subsequently sought an injunction at the Court of Appeal to stay execution of the judgment pending the Supreme Court’s decision.
Ruling on the injunction on Friday, a three-member panel of justices led by Justice Okon Abang, in two suits marked CA/KN/27M/2025 and CA/KN/28M/2025, issued a decision on an application filed by Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan.
The appeal was filed against the Kano State Government, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Inspector General of Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and other security agencies.
Aminu Babba Dan (Sarkin Dawaki Babba) had, through an application filed on February 6, 2025, sought an order preventing the respondents from enforcing the appellate court’s judgment while an appeal was pending at the Supreme Court.
The grounds for the application included the argument that the applicant had initially filed the suit in Kano to protect his fundamental rights, that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, and that there was a need to prevent the respondents from executing the judgment.
Additionally, the applicant contended that the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024, passed by the state legislature and signed by the governor, legally dissolved the newly created emirates and reinstated Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the 16th Emir of Kano.
In a unanimous ruling, the panel of justices led by Abang held that the application had merit and warranted the court’s discretion.
“The law is settled. The court is enjoined to exercise its discretion judiciously and in the interest of justice,” he said.
He further ruled that the mandatory injunction required maintaining the status quo ante bellum as it was before the Federal High Court’s decision on June 13, 2024, in suit no. FHC/KN/CS/182/2024.
Granting the injunction, Justice Abang stated that the applicant’s request met all necessary legal conditions. He emphasized that since a valid appeal was already pending before the Supreme Court, it was necessary to preserve the subject matter of the litigation.
“In my view, I hold that the balance of convenience lies in his favor. It is deserving to protect him pending the determination of the Supreme Court,” Abang ruled.
The court restrained the respondents from enforcing the January 10 judgment that nullified the Kano State Government’s dissolution of the emirates. It also ordered that the status quo be maintained until the Supreme Court issues a final decision.
The applicant was directed to file an undertaking within 14 days to indemnify the respondents in damages if the order was later found to have been unnecessary.
The appellate court’s January 10 judgment had overturned an earlier ruling by the Federal High Court in Kano, which nullified the Kano State Emirate Council (Repeal) Law 2024. This law reversed the creation of five new emirates and reinstated Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Emir of Kano.
The Court of Appeal, in setting aside the Federal High Court’s decision, ruled that the lower court lacked jurisdiction over chieftaincy matters, which fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of state high courts.
